Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 January 2017
When the Spaniards conquered the central portion of the Mexican state of Chiapas in 1524 they found it occupied by the so called Chiapanecs, a brave tribe which the Aztecs never permanently subdued, but who on the contrary, succeeded in seriously disturbing commerce between the Aztec metropolis and their most southern provinces.
Both the origin and the history of the Chiapanecs are still unknown. There is no codex of the time prior to Cortés, nor a history written by a Chiapanec after the conquest either in Chiapanec or in Spanish. We do not even know the name of a ruler prior to the coming of the Spaniards.